Canadians switch off on holiday

13 August 2014

TORONTO: Canadians are among the world's travellers who are most relaxed about their vacation experiences, being significantly less attached to their mobile devices than many other nationalities new research has found.

Hotels.com, the online accommodation site, surveyed 2,495 people across 28 countries and found that just over one quarter (27%) of Canadians were unwilling to relinquish their tablet or smartphone when on holiday. Only vacationers from Sweden (23%), Spain (23%), Argentina (22%) and India (20%) were less likely to feel the need to stay connected.

Asian travellers, however, were at the other end of the spectrum as people from Thailand (85%), Korea (78%), Japan (69%), China (67%) and Singapore (60%) all proved reluctant to ditch their devices.

"Going away on vacation should be a time to unwind, whether you're lying on a beach in Cancun or snowboarding down a mountain in Whistler," declared Taylor L. Cole, APR, travel expert at Hotels.com.

"While smartphones are useful for checking the weather or viewing maps, travellers would benefit from switching off their e-mails to disconnect and restore a little more of the all-important work/life balance," she added.

Almost half of Canadians (44%) said they spent no time at all on social media while on vacation and another 41% were happy to go on a vacation without a mobile device or laptop.

Further indications of the Canadian attitude came in their assessment of the most important travel items, with physical fitness and personal hygiene (in the form of gym kits and deodorant) ranked least important, suggesting they place greater importance on actual relaxation when on vacation.

Similarly they were among the least likely to exaggerate their vacation experiences, with just 20% admitting they would embellish stories to impress others, unlike the majority of Chinese (67%) and Germans (64%).

Perhaps all the time away from their smartphones freed up more time for genuine enjoyment, mused Hotels.com.